


Make a Move

by eclecticxdetour



Series: Tumblr Bucky/Steve Ficlets [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 03:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2565923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclecticxdetour/pseuds/eclecticxdetour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not the grand gesture their friends expected, but Steve finally makes a move on Bucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make a Move

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [HERE](http://eclecticxdetour.tumblr.com/post/101678495371/inspired-by-x-and-a-little-chat-with) with great inspiration from [this gifset](http://chrisruffalo.tumblr.com/post/56078436569) and a conversation with [Aimee](http://stevebottoms.tumblr.com/).

There was a slew of  empty beer bottles on Clint’s make-shift coffee table. They’d eaten a smorgasbord of take-out, relaying the high- and low-lights of their week as they made their way through the buffet and booze. Nat, Steve, and Bucky sat on the couch while Sam, Clint, and Peggy sat on the floor. Natasha didn’t look at Clint as he complained about several of his archery students, but her teasing responses belied her supposed inattention.

Steve wasn’t sure  _what_ Clint was talking about. He was snug between Natasha and Bucky, too warm from their closeness and the quiet hum of cheap beer under his skin. The flush of his cheeks gave away his tipsiness.

“Y’buzzed or are you thinkin’ something naughty, Rogers?” whispered Bucky, nudging Steve in the ribs. Unlike Steve, his face didn’t get ruddy as he drank, slightly slower blinking and the low dip of his eyelids the only signs he was even feeling the booze.

He nodded, realizing that the notion neither confirmed nor denied either of Bucky’s insinuations. Bucky’s huffed laugh in response fanned across his ear and Steve shivered. Natasha dug her elbow into his other side and he frowned, turning his head to face her. Her attention was on Clint and the others on the floor, but his side twinged under a second press of her elbow and he hissed her name.

She didn’t look at him, but she nudged his side,  _gently_ , three more times. For the past few months she, Sam, and Peggy had been trying to persuade him to make a move on Bucky. The three of them were  _convinced_  that Bucky reciprocated his feelings. Steve constantly argued that if his longtime friend and roommate felt the same way he did, then Bucky had just as many chances to make a move as he had. And if Bucky  _wanted_  to then he already  _would_  have, so would you all stop already?

That wasn’t to say that Steve  _couldn’t_  make a move. He knew that Bucky wouldn’t make a huge deal if he’d expressed his interest and Bucky didn’t return his feelings. Except the possibility of rejection was  _daunting_. He’d gone up against bullies three times his size as a kid, never backed down even though he was afraid. But fear of a thrashing and fear of heartbreak were entirely different fears. He and Bucky would have figured things out, he was sure. He hoped they would eventually manage to get back to normal, but it wasn’t worth risking the easy flow of their friendship.

He sighed and glanced at Bucky, pursing his lips, sure that Bucky had been looking at him. Steve lifted a brow and took a pull of his beer. Natasha elbowed him again and he widened his eyes at her. The corner of her mouth quirked and her gaze flicked toward Bucky.

Steve set his bottle on the table and pouted. Sat back and closed his eyes, letting the sofa cradle him. Bucky shifted next to him and he opened his eyes. Both brows reached his hairline when Bucky’s gaze dipped down to his mouth, Bucky flushing and chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. Bucky settled next to him again, slumping further against his side, knees knocking together.

It wasn’t unlike how they always sat on the couch together, but Bucky kept stealing little peeks at him. Little glances that he knew Bucky thought were  _subtle_ , but Steve felt each one like a tangible caress. Maybe their friends weren’t completely wrong about how Bucky felt toward him…

His fingers twitched where they curled over his own thigh. He glanced at Bucky out of the corner of his eye and thought  _screw it_. Steve swallowed, sucking on the inside of his cheek and blindly reaching for Bucky’s arm. He found Bucky’s forearm to Bucky’s cutoff  “Wh—”. Inched his fingers down to Bucky’s hand and loosely tangled their fingers.

Bucky’s breathing caught and Bucky twisted toward him. Steve let himself look, caught sight of Bucky’s soft grin and the wrinkles at the corners of Bucky’s eyes. He furrowed his brow, everyone quiet as he and Bucky stared at one another. A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth and Bucky ducked his head. Kept smiling as Bucky hooked their arms together and squeezed his fingers.

Nobody spoke and Steve let out a long exhale. He squeezed Bucky’s hand and relished the heat of Bucky against him when Bucky pulled him close, Bucky slightly shrugging his shoulder until he rested his head there. Bucky pressed his cheek to the top of his head and sighed. Turning his head, he brushed a kiss to Bucky’s shoulder, Bucky’s blush heating the top of his head. It might not have been the grand gesture their friends were expecting, but Bucky kissed the crown of his head and he knew he couldn’t have made a better move.

“Thank  _god_ ,” said Peggy, breaking the silence and cracking open a new beer to the chorus of everyone’s warm laughter.


End file.
